A global ‘e-visa’ system which allows free movement of tourists around the world is the only way to manage expected market growth in years to come, tourism ministers have claimed.
Development of an online regime could be developed within the next two decades if countries work together – mirroring the way Iata managed the introduction of e-tickets for airlines after 2004.
The need for radical changes to national visa policies was the main talking point at the UNWTO Ministers Summit at WTM, which examined ways to break down borders and maximise the potential of the travel industry.
Top of the agenda was the ongoing battle tourism ministers faced when trying to justify the value of the business to their government colleagues.
Delegates heard how Mexico had already relaxed entry requirements to visitors of all nationalities if they had a valid US visa, effectively recognising that the US paperwork was a ‘gold standard’, and had attracted an additional 1m visitors in the process.
Mexican secretary for tourism Gloria Guevara Manzo said: “The battle was to convince our president of the value that travel and tourism can bring the country. He saw the bigger picture – the trouble is that many heads of state can’t.”
The negative effect of tightening visa security was underlined by research from the World Travel and Tourism Council, which revealed the US lost over $600bn in tourism revenue under former president George Bush in the years after the September 11 terrorist attacks.
Jeff Poole, director of government and industry affairs at Iata, stressed it would take an industry-wide effort to convince governments of the value of a worldwide visa system. The biggest issue, he said, was that tourism ministers were often powerless compared to their counterparts in charge of national security.
“It is a move that needs to be project managed. We need to develop common standards and that is a role for an organisation such as the WTO. We can’t leave it for tourism ministers to go back and have to fight this cause alone.”
However, British sports and tourism minister Hugh Robertson warned: “Anybody who claims security is not the major issue is talking rubbish. The terrorism threat is real and cannot be taken lightly.”